Persistence is Key
by worldwithoutend
Summary: Orihime is new at school and notices a boy who never brings himeself a lunch, will what she has to offer be enough to satisfy him? Bleach characters in a high school setting, mostly UlquiHime, but also many others.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was Orihime's first day at a new school, it would be a lie to say she wasn't anxious, but then again, who wouldn't be? new people and new classes with different teachers and different learning methods.

She stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom. She lived alone, brother and parents long deceased. It wasn't a difficult lifestyle, she simply had to make sure to make her own meals and take proper care of herself. Back at her old school she'd had friends who were constantly watching over her, but they lived far away now.

She smoothed her uniform skirt and slipped her blue flower pins from her brother into her hair, still dazzled by their beauty. Her hair flowed softly in the breeze of the open window and her eyes shone bright and expectantly.

On her way out, she locked up the door to her one bedroom apartment. Walking happily to school, it was close, about a ten minute walk and to top things off it was the perfect sunny day. _The beginning of a great school year_, thought Orihime excitedly.

She observed as kids began appearing from around street corners and filled the sidewalk, what had originally been a walk alone was now filled with happily chatting students. The front of the school itself was even more crowded, kids were flinging themselves at each others, cries of glee coming from their mouth. Surely, they were happy to see each other again after the long summer break.

Orihime found herself struggling to make it through the crowds of students and she made her way to the schools entrance. She'd been nearly caught in the middle of three hugs before she reached the front doors.

Amazingly the school was even more populated with kids. It was massive, from what Orihime could see, the hallway extended far, branching off several times before ending with a set of stairs.

Thankfully the office was directly to her right, she didn't need to worry about getting lost before her classes would even start. Orihime opened the door and stepped inside. The secretary greeted her warily from her seat, clearly already annoyed with the students.

'Hi, my name is Orihime Inoue, I just transferred here.' She'd told the lady with a small smile.

She nodded and grabbed some papers from a basket on her desk handing them to Orihime, 'Fill these out and return them to me.' She said shortly.

Bright gray eyes scanned the pages, filling them in with the corresponding information. _Name, previous school, address, phone number..._

Once completed, Orihime handed the pages back to the secretary, who in return handed her a map of the school, a list of her classes and her locker information.

Leaving the office, the orange haired girl read the papers, and discovered that her locker would be on the second floor, _Locker _451, she thought.

Following the directions of the map closely, she followed a hall to her left, then a staircase until she looked up to find her locker directly ahead of her.

Unlocking it, she pulled her bag off of her shoulder and slowly filled the locker with her various school books. All perfectly lined up, she pulled a mirror from her bag and stuck it to the door of the locker, smiling at her reflection, noting vaguely the girl opening the locker next to hers in the background.

Her arms were filled with books and she seemed to be having a difficult time opening the lock at the same time. 'Do you want me to hold those for you?' The orange haired girl asked the strawberry blond.

Bright blue eyes lit up, 'That would be great!' Replied the girl happily. Free of books, she opened her locker and took her things back to put them away. 'Thank you.' She finally added.

She was truly beautiful, her hair flowed out long behind her in long waves of strawberry blond and her blue eyes shone brightly even in the terrible school lighting. A beauty mark lay to one side beneath her lip and her bust was beyond comparison to most. She was surely popular.

'I'm Rangiku Matsumoto,' She said with a flash of her white teeth, a smile. 'Are you new here?'

I nodded, 'Yeah, I just transferred here. I'm Orihime Inoue.'

'It's nice to meet you,' She continued distractedly. She seemed to have noticed someone in the distance, because she continued by saying 'But, I've got to go, maybe I'll see you around.' She then took off a smile on her lips.

Gray eyes watched as the strawberry blond hair flowed behind Rangiku while she ran off. She met with two other girls, both equally beautiful. One had long green locks of hair and golden eyes, while the other had blond hair and the perfect complexion of tanned skin and blue eyes.

Orihime watched as the girls laughed joyfully together, it reminded her of her old friends. She suddenly missed them terribly. She'd hope to have a relationship with the kids at this school of equal calibre to that of those three girls. Not only did they look completely happy, they were stunning and surely had a vast expanse of friends. This school was, after all, a lot bigger than her old one.

Checking the time, Orihime noted that class would begin shortly. She headed towards her new homeroom class, 2-D. She squeezed by a group of students blocking the door unnoticed and found herself a seat by the window.

To occupy herself while she waited for the class to begin she allowed her grey eyes to survey the students around her. She took immediate notice of two boys chatting animatedly in their seats across the class from her. From what she could hear, it was not a conversation, but an argument, a science related one at that. The boy closest to her had a head of luscious pink hair and wore white glasses over his golden eyes, while next to him sat a another boy with similarly coloured eyes and blue hair.

Orihime vaguely noted that her hair color would not be out of place in this school, within the first hour she's already seen a wide array of hair colors, all more out of place than her own. In fact, in that moment Orihime even noticed another with a shade of orange on his head similar to her own. He'd walked in at that very second, warm brown eyes and bright white smile announcing his presence.

He was followed by a laughing friends, together the two made for an extremely handsome group. They seemed to have captured the attention of many classmates. Many eyes turned towards the sound of their voices as they greeted others. The messy blue haired boy of the two, had a rough voice, it was very alluring, equally were his aqua eyes.

Orihime followed the gaze of the two towards a small boy with spiky white hair, and amazingly blue eyes. He sat alone, just ahead of Orihime watching someone else from the corner of his eye. However, before long, he'd turned away upon hearing the two boys from previous call out to him in delight.

Orange hair turned towards the other end of class to see where the boy had been looking before, only to find a small group of girls sitting at desks in the corner. Among them could be found a raven haired, grey eyed girl and another with purple eyes. Between them sat another brown haired girl with her hair pulled up into a small bun, they were adorable.

Only moments later Rangiku ran into the class and was pulled immediately towards the group of three boys by their calls. She held a wide smile upon setting sight on them and then, as if on purpose, gave the tinniest boy a bone crushing hug while sticking his face directly into her boobs. Orihime was almost embarrassed for the boy by simply watching, but quickly noted the wink Rangiku gave to the two boys alongside her, who followed suit in laughter.

Unfortunately, or more luckily for the short white haired boy, the teacher arrived at this moment. 'Take your seats.' He commanded. Immediately everyone scrambled to find seats with their friends before they'd all be taken.

Orihime watched as Rangiku spotted her, bouncing towards the vacant desk beside her. 'Orihime!' She called out with a wave a filled the spot.

Behind Rangiku followed the three boys who seated themselves around her. Orange hair and Blue sat side by side just ahead of the strawberry blond, while white sat behind.

'I'm glad we have a class together,' Whispered Rangiku to Orihime. At this grey eyes lit up, Orihime had already begun making friends and the blue eyed girls words seemed completely honest.

Before Orihime could reply the teacher spoke up yet again, 'My name is Barragan Luisenbarn. You may call me professor Barragan.' He was old and had white hair, but that did not seem to affect his overall presence among the students. He was obviously a very strict teacher.

Shortly after his introduction the teacher told the students to head to the auditorium for the entrance ceremony.

As Orihime stood, Rangiku spoke, 'Do you want to have lunch with me and my friends?' She asked suddenly.

Shocked by her immediate invitation Orihime accepted gratefully and followed the strawberry blond to the gym.

The ceremony passed quickly, it lasted until just a little before lunch and the students were allowed to have an early start at it. Orihime walked happily to her locker with Rangiku and took out her lunch. 'My friends and I agreed to meet on the roof to eat.' She said.

Together the two girls waved through mazes of hallways and up countless flights of stairs (more light a couple) until they reached an exit to the roof. It was surprisingly nice beyond the door, the sun gave a warm glow and plants and benches were placed around the surface.

Orihime noticed Rangiku's friends right away, they were unmistakable. The shinning green haired girl waved excitedly to Rangiku, while the blond haired girl ate quietly alongside the other.

Rangiku grabbed Orihime's hand and ran over to her friends, smiling brightly. 'This is Orihime Inoue, she's in my homeroom class and her locker is next to mine.' She told them happily.

'Hi, I'm Nel,' The golden eyes beauty introduced herself, 'and this is Halibel, don't mind her, she's just quiet is all.' she concluded.

Lunch proceeded nicely, everyone was equally friendly to Orihime, well, with the exception of a quiet Halibel. She seemed to fit in perfectly and chatted happily with everyone.

Before long, the conversation hit its peek when Nel asked, 'So who do you have in your homeroom class, Rangiku?'

'A nice turnout this year, as a matter of fact.' She said with a laugh, 'Get ready to be jealous Nel, because guess who we've got in our class?' She asked gesturing towards Orihime and she.

Nel's face scrunched up in a kind of look that suggested she was thinking very hard. And as soon as it appeared it was gone again. Her mouth opening slightly, realization etching itself onto her features and gold eyes opening in shock, she spoke suddenly, 'Grimmjow?'

Rangiku simply nodded and Nel looked completely taken over by jealousy. I couldn't suppress the laughter that escaped my mouth, the girl with the childish voice had gone through a amazing amount of facial expressions all within the last few seconds and even Halibel laughed a little.

'Not only Grimmjow though, Ichigo and Hitsugaya, too.' Rangiku confessed smugly.

'Sorry to interrupt, but who exactly are these people?' The orange haired girl asked suddenly, realizing she had no idea to whom Rangiku was referring, though she had a fairly good idea.

'Well, Ichigo is the orange haired boy, and Hitsugaya is the White haired one. And Grimmjow is, let's just say Nel's love, he's got blue hair.' The strawberry blond told Orihime.

'Are you guys dating?' Orihime then asked Nel.

'No, no, no.' She spluttered. 'I just, well, I-'

'She's liked him for about ever.' Rangiku completed the sentence, cutting Nel off amidst her loss for words.

After a few minutes of teasing and joking Nel continued the previous conversation by naming off some of her own classmates. 'Well, we've got Renji and Shuhei, that should be funny,' She began. Followed by various other names to which Rangiku nodded.

However, when Nel finally mentioned a few names among others, a frown sprung forth on the strawberry blonds face. 'That sucks, Ulquiorra and Byakuya can be so depressing to have around. And well, that Gin guy is just straight up creepy. ' She said before turning to Orihime, 'Don't get me wrong, they're not all that bad, but they don't talk, except Gin, he talks too much.'

Orihime understood what Rangiku was trying to tell her, she'd had students with similar qualities at her old school and had found it difficult to get along with them as well.

Nel continued, 'There's almost different groups at this school, you know?' She stood suddenly and motioned for Orihime to follow as she walked towards the edge of the roof. She pointed down towards a group of four before continuing, 'Like see, over there? those would be your stereotypical bullies, and there are the "gangsters".' She concluded pointing towards another group bellow.

'But look how cute that one's dog is!'Orihime exclaimed suddenly, still looking at the so called "gangsters".

Rangiku had joined the two and laughed suddenly, 'You mean the dog with Tosen? he brings it everywhere with him. No joke. what was its name again?' She asked the green haired girl.

'Komaumura, I think.' Nel replied, unsure. 'Anyways,' She continued, while walking back to their spot. 'It's not only them, I mean, you've also got your science geeks and game club nerds.'

'You'll learn them all soon enough, don't worry.' Rangiku told Orihime in suit. 'But lunch is almost over, we should head back to get our stuff.' She then said, standing and dusting herself off. 'What class do you have next Orihime?'

'English, I think.' She said replied.

And for the first time, Halibel spoke up. 'So do I.' It was surprising, but nice. Her voice was very calm and smooth and Orihime couldn't help but smile at the blonds recognition of her.

It had been fun spending lunch with the three other girls, Orihime couldn't help but to be reminded of her old school again. Her old best friend was not like these three, but it did not change her opinion of them. Despite their beauty and popularity, the three girls seemed genuinely nice. She truly appreciated their kindness towards her.

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Hope everyone enjoys this, i will try to update regularly :) let me know what you think! ulquihime soon to come in future chapters too, i promise ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: i do not own bleach or any of its charcters D:

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Chapter 2

The orange haired girl could only think of one way to describe her English class, interesting, but not in a good sort of way. Well, it wasn't bad, but the students in this class were slightly stranger than she'd been expecting.

For the last minute or so, Orihime had sat listening to the conversation going on next to her. It was between three boys, one of which was surprisingly handsome with brown hair and warm eyes. He almost seemed out of place besides the silver haired boy and the blond. In fact, to the grey eyed girl, the boy with the silver hair was almost creepy, a smile constantly set on his lips and his eyes permanently closed.

'My Charmander is definitely going to evolve first.' This was spoken by the blond haired boy, he looked up from his game boy just long enough for Orihime to notice the color of his eyes, purple.

'Ya're wrong again, Wonderweiss. It's _my _Charmander who'll evolve first.' This time it was the silver haired boy who corrected the blond.

'Unfortunately, you're both wrong. Because it is my Charmander who will evolve first, I am the God of the Pokémon world, after all.' Orihime couldn't help but laugh to herself, the brown haired boy seemed awfully sure of himself.

If possible, at this the silver haired boy smiled even wider. 'Yea, yea. Just like ya're the god of World a' Warcraft an' COD.'

Purple eyes half closed in laughter, the blond boy spoke, 'You just got told, Aizen.'

Turning away from the three, Orihime realized that this must have been to whom Nel was referring when she said "game club nerds". They were definitely an eccentric bunch, thought the orange haired girl. 'If you're wondering, their names are Aizen, Gin and Wonderweiss.' Said the blond girl from besides Orihime suddenly.

Orihime nodded to Halibel. From the moment they'd entered the class the tanned girl hadn't spoken a word. She had however, guided Orihime to a pair of seats and sat down, indicating the seat next to her own for Orihime to take.

Said grey eyed girl was very grateful for this, she hadn't been sure as to whether Halibel would want to sit with her. It relieved her of the thought of sitting alone, she might of ended up right besides someone less than friendly if Halibel hadn't of offered her a seat.

Orange hair turned to look at the doorway, watching as students filled in. She noticed again the small black haired girl from her homeroom class. The tiny grey eyed girl found herself a seat in the back of the class and didn't say a word. 'And that's Soifon.' This was again told to Orihime by Halibel, who seemed to read every one of Orihime's thoughts.

'She's really cute, isn't she?'

'I guess, but don't say that to her face.' The tanned girl told Orihime, making a small face at the thought.

Orihime could not possibly understand why Halibel would say such a thing, surely everyone liked to be called cute. 'Why's that?' She then asked aloud. However, Halibel gave no reply. Her attention seemed to have suddenly shifted to someone who'd just entered the class. Grey eyes followed the gaze of aqua and equally watched as a boy found himself a seat. His hair was shoulder length and brown. From the moment he'd sat down it looked like he'd fallen asleep.

Ignoring the fact that Halibel hadn't answered her question, her gaze went back to the classroom door. Another boy had walked in, and Orihime couldn't help but to find him extremely handsome. His skin was pale like porcelain, and his jade eyes stood out in comparison to his raven hair. However, his face was completely emotionless, and the expression on its own was very intimidating.

Her watchful eyes followed until he sat down right besides the boy who'd snatched all of Halibel's attention. Grey eyes could have watched the boy for another long while, his presence was incredible, but she was interrupted before it became a reality. This was due to the fact that someone had stopped directly in front of her, beaming down. 'Hey,' he said, 'do you believe in love at first sight?'

Shocked Orihime froze. It had been the boy from her homeroom class, the one with the orange hair who'd stop just in front of her. She thought, rushed, for a sufficient reply. But it was completely unnecessary, for the boy continued, 'Or should I walk by again?' he asked.

Taking a moment to process the question, Orihime quickly realized it was a pickup line. She blushed furiously, the handsome boy had hit on her, on _her_. It hadn't been the first time someone had done it to her, but it was usually some creep outside of school, someone not so handsome and friendly looking. She couldn't find a reply for the warm eyed boy.

'Don't scare her, Ichigo.' Thankfully for Orihime, the blond beside her seemed to have turned her attention from the brown haired boy long enough to save Orihime.

'Ah, Halibel! I didn't see you there.' He said with a laugh and a wink. 'Looks like we've finally got a class together.'

'I suppose we do.' Said Halibel in reply, crossing her arms. Ichigo only smiled brighter at this and took a seat directly in front of the two girls.

Orihime watched as he turned back around to face them, talking as he did so. 'Sorry about that,' He said suddenly, directing his words at Orihime. 'I was just joking around, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, by the way.'

The orange haired girl nodded, and replied 'It's alright, I'm Orihime Inoue.'

'Pleased to make your acquaintance.' He said before turning back around as he heard the teacher enter the room, telling them all to shut up.

Orihime spent much of the period switching views between Ichigo and the mysterious Raven haired boy from before. She was very tempted to approach him, but at the same time very wary. He looked very reserved, and Orihime could only guess that he would not be as friendly as the average person. She wondered vaguely if she would ever get the opportunity to talk to him without the worry of him simply rejecting or ignoring her.

Resigned to the fact that she probably wouldn't get a chance to talk to the boy very soon, she turned her thoughts to Ichigo. He had chosen the seats directly in front of her and Halibel. She couldn't help but to wonder if it had been for her or the blond that he had chosen that seat. Surely he could have sat anywhere, he seemed very popular from what Orihime could tell. And to top it all off, he'd spoken to her first in the class, out of everyone.

The orange haired girl allowed the thoughts and speculations in her mind to roam freely. The period past much faster because of this, at any rate.

Her next class, Orihime was disappointed to find she had alone. That's to say, none of her newly acquired friends would be in the same class as her. She stepped through the door of the classroom and was surprised to find herself, again, in the same class as the raven haired girl from her two first periods, Soifon. And alongside her was the small brown haired girl from homeroom.

She hesitantly made her way over to them, wondering if they would mind her company. 'is this seat taken?' She asked once she'd reached the seat besides Soifon.

'Go right ahead.' The girl replied, as her friend leaned forward to see beyond Soifon.

'Are you new here?' The small brown haired girl then asked, brows furrowed in wonder.

The orange haired girl nodded, 'I'm Orihime Inoue.'

'My names Hinamori Momo, but you can just call me Momo.' She continued, pointing towards her friend she then said; 'And this is Soifon.' The black haired girl simply nodded.

To Orihime's surprise the two girls were rather friendly with her, even though Soifon was a bit cold. But it was easy to tell that that was just part of who she was. Momo, on the other hand had much to share with her new found friend. She told the orange haired girl about her friend Rukia, who she was sure Orihime would love and then about her other friends Nanao and Kira.

To Orihime it was all very interesting, learning about new people was something she'd been looking forward to from the moment she knew she'd be changing schools. 'It would be great to meet your friends, they sound really nice.' She then told Momo excitedly.

Momo nodded enthusiastically in agreement. 'Why don't you have lunch with us tomorrow?'

Orihime hesitated, she wouldn't want to ditch Rangiku and the others, who she was sure were expecting her for lunch. However, it wouldn't hurt to hang out with Momo and her friends for a part of lunch, surely the three girls wouldn't mind. 'I might not be able to for the first half, I've already made plans.' She scratched the back of her head before continuing. 'But I'd like to spend the second half of lunch with you guys.'

In the end the three girls ended up all exchanging phone numbers, Momo had told her she would text Orihime halfway through lunch the next day to come and find her.

After this, the class seemed to have also passed fairly fast as Orihime realized she only had one period left ahead of her today. As she stood from her seat, she noticed for the first time in the last hour and a half, that the raven haired boy from the previous period was also in this class. She quickly turned to Momo and asked; 'Who is that boy?'

'That's Ulquiorra Schiffer,' Momo told her. 'he's kind of quiet though.' And it ended at that, it would appear as though there wasn't much to say about the boy.

Orihime spent her last class of the day with Rangiku, it was physics. Rangiku was surprisingly smart, even though she might of not looked it. But then again, the same could be said for Orihime. Though, they didn't spend the majority of the class discussing physics related topics, they spent it chatting happily about their interests, and so on.

With this, the day ended quickly and on a good note. She walked home from school with her three new friends and watched as others she'd met today turned around separate corners, parting for the day from their friends. Soon, she also parted from the group, following a smaller street branching off the main one.

She noted that a few other students seemed to use this same street to get home, she spotted the blue haired, golden eyed boy from her homeroom class walking alongside a girl with black braided hair. Orihime couldn't decide for sure if they were a couple or siblings.

She equally noted a shock of silver hair walking just a few steps ahead of her own. It must have been Gin, the strange boy from her English class. And further off, in the distance, a raven haired student. It might have been Soifon, or maybe the other black haired girl from Orihime's homeroom.

In any case, they were all soon out of site as Orihime took a turn down another small side street and ended up in from of her apartment.

Entering the small building, she made herself something to eat and settled into the couch. Orihime remembered the events from the morning. She thought of how Ichigo, the very handsome and kind boy, had taken note of her, out of all people. She then thought again of Ulquiorra, the supposedly quiet boy, she didn't doubt that one. And then of all her new friends, Rangiku, Nel and Halibel and finally of Momo and Soifon.

Everyone had showed her so much kindness, so much kindness that she had not been expecting. She remembered when she left her old school how her best friend, Tatsuki, had told her to watch out for herself. She knew, of all people, that the world could be a cruel place.

But Orihime had a feeling that things would be better than alright. She believed in the kindness the other students had shown her and trusted that there would be much more to come.

Absentmindedly, Orihime played with her food as she thought of all this. She'd been eating something along the lines of salad and barbecue sauce, always the one to have strange taste in food.

After finishing her meal and watching TV for a while, Orihime's phone rang. She picked it up and curled the line around her finger. 'Hello?' She asked.

'Orihime?' The voice asked brightly. Orihime could recognize the voice, even if she'd only learnt it that very day. It was the busty strawberry blond, Rangiku. And surely enough, this was confirmed only moments later. 'It's me, Rangiku!' She exclaimed.

'Yeap, what's up?' The grey eyed girl asked into the receiver, looking out through the window.

'Do you feel like hanging out with us and some friends tomorrow, after school?'

Orihime waited a moment before answering, taking the time to watch someone ride by on their bicycle outside. 'Who is us?' She asked hesitantly, Orihime wasn't sure if she'd want to hang out with "us" if she didn't know who they were. For all she knew Rangiku could be part of a secret gang, though the mental image seemed to make the speculation all the more unlikely.

'Halibel and Nel, of course.' She said with a laugh, seemingly catching on to what Orihime was thinking. 'And the friends are just some kids from school that you probably haven't met yet, but I'm sure you'll like them.' Rangiku concluded encouragingly.

'I guess that'd be alright.' Orihime finally replied, much to Rangiku's contentment.

The conversation steered off into a new direction as Rangiku began chatting happily about her first day back at school. She'd told Orihime all about her classes and the friends she'd had in them. She even confessed to Orihime about the boy she'd had a crush on, Hisagi Shuhei, ever since the summer festival. According to her, he'd looked very manly while catching her a fish at one of the game booths. The grey eyed girl laughed inwardly, wondering what ever could be manlier than catching a gold fish?

The conversation lasted at least a good hour before Rangiku was called to dinner, they said their goodbyes and hung up.

Happy with herself, Orihime made her way to the kitchen to prepare a lunch for tomorrow, a cucumber and ketchup sandwich. Wondering vaguely if she should pack extra for her new friends, and deciding that maybe she would do that tomorrow instead.

After this, Orihime prepared herself for sleep and drifted off in the comfort of her bed.

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well, here's chapter 2 for you all, i hope everyone likes it. sorry if it's kind of slow, I've been trying to get all teh character introductions and settings out of the way so i could start on the real story.  
let me know if this is worth continuing with reviews ;)!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING D':

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Chapter 3

Orihime skipped happily to school, meeting along the main road, somewhat unexpectedly, with Soifon. She'd left her apartment fairly early, excited for school and was surprised to find that she was not the only one who went to school early. The short raven haired girl greeted her in a genuinely friendly matter and the two walked to school together.

'Do you always come to school this early?' Orihime asked the small girl.

'Sometimes, I like to get an early start on the day.' She replied, looking out towards the school ahead of them. 'Besides, there are plenty of people who are always there early.'

Orihime now understood why the small girls gaze was so fixed on the school, she was looking for someone who presumably came early. The orange haired woman followed the watchful sight of the other until it landed on a group of four people. From what Orihime could remember, these had been the people Nel had pointed out as bullies.

Wondering what Soifon was thinking, Orihime looked in time to see a look of annoyance flit across her face. She then spoke rather hurriedly while grabbing Orihime's arm. 'Follow me. 'She ordered.

The two girls crept around an alleyway just before reaching the school grounds and followed the path until they reached the far side of the school building. Here it was clear of any people, which gave Soifon a look of relief.

'What happened? why did we come all the way around here?' Asked Orihime confusedly. She'd no idea why Soifon would want to avoid these people, unless... 'You're not being bullied by them are you?' Orihime then continued in disbelief. The orange haired girls thoughts suddenly filled with worry, how could anyone want to bully someone so cute.

Although, her worried thoughts didn't last long as they were soon interrupted with the sound of laughter. Orihime turned her head suddenly to look at Soifon who was laughing very hard indeed. 'Me? Bullied?' She asked while taking breaths for air.

'I don't understand.' Orihime murmured quietly. Apparently she was completely wrong, but then what was plaguing the small girl in front of her?

Soifon calmed her laughter at once as she pulled out her cell phone. 'Those guys, the four who were waiting in front of the school, you saw them?'She asked distractedly while typing away on the keypad.

'Uh huh.' Said Orihime with a nod, eager for Soifon to explain.

'Well, one of them, he has this huge crush on me and whenever I'm nearby he tries to talk to me. It's really quite annoying.' Told Soifon, her expression one of disgust. 'His name's Omeada.'

Orihime thought for a minute. This Omeada liked Soifon, but she thought he was annoying. What a tragic story, for ones love not to be returned, she thought quietly. 'Which one was he?' She then asked, remembering the faces of the four boys vaguely.

'Well, he was the big one.' She said, then pausing to think because, really, all of them were big. 'Not the spiky haired one, that's Kenpachi and not the skinny one either, that's Nnoitra. He was the fat one, with all the jewellery... and he didn't have tanned skin. That was Yammy.'

Orihime suddenly remembered all too clearly, a look of horror pasting itself on her features. Maybe this love story wasn't so sad after all. Omeada looked like the kind of man who would hit on any given girl if she were walking alone at night in the heart of downtown. He looked creepy and disgusting, not that his personality necessarily was.

Soifon laughed again and suddenly looked up and waved. There, in the close distance approached a girl about equal in height to Soifon. Her hair equally dark, though her eyes shown purple instead of grey.

'Hey.' She said with a small smile, stopping in front of the two girls.

'Rukia, this is Orihime.' Said Soifon, Orihime nodded. 'We just met up along the way to school, she's in our homeroom class and all of my other ones too.' What the small girl said now was true, there wasn't one class that the two girls didn't share. It was very coincidental really.

'Hi, I'm Rukia Kuchiki.' Said the purple eyed girl, extending her hand. Orihime replied by taking the small girls hand and shaking it. Afterwards, Rukia turned back to Soifon and pulled her bag around to the front of her, reaching inside. 'Anyways, here's what you left at my house last night.' She pulled out a math manual and handed it to Soifon.

The small grey eyed girl took it and thanked her friend. According to the girls, Soifon had gone over to Rukia's house after school last night and left her homework there. She came early because she needed to finish it. And finally, with that said, Soifon headed inside the building to finish the uncompleted homework, leaving Rukia and Orihime alone together.

The two of them were currently on their way to the lockers. 'Momo told me about you.' Said Orihime suddenly, causing Rukia to laugh.

'She told me about you too, last night.' The purple eyed girl then told Orihime in reply.

They continued chatting away happily as the school began to fill with more and more students, until they finally headed off towards homeroom together. They split up and took their places and waited for class to begin.

Orihime was greeted happily at her desk by Rangiku, who was looking excited. When Orihime asked, the strawberry blond confessed to being excited for the hang out that would take place that evening. According to Rangiku, the four girls would all head out to Rangiku's place after school and get ready before going to see a movie with a few other people.

At lunch, Orihime met with the other three girls on the roof, just as they had done yesterday. She spent much of the first half of lunch recounting the events that had taken place in English class. The orange haired girl had talked a lot with Ichigo, who had seemed rather keen on learning more about her. And for the other part of English, she'd watched Ulquiorra discreetly from the corner of her eye, not that she'd told her friends this.

Nel had equally told them all about what had taken place in her Gym class, some guy, apparently named Kisuke, had gotten into a fight with a girl by the name of Hiyori. Or rather, Hiyori had beat the crap out of him over some stupid reason.

It all sounded rather comical as Nel explained that Hiyori had removed her shoe in order to hit Kusuke until she was stopped by someone else, named Shinji, who had in turn receive the shoe in his own face instead.

Lost in the conversation, Orihime only remembered to whom she'd dedicated the second half of her lunch, when her phone began to buzz. She pulled it out and checked the message.

_From: Momo_

_Come find us, at Soifon's locker._

Orihime shut her phone, and explained to her friends before excusing herself and hurrying down the flight of stairs.

She followed the halls until she reached the right one, spotting three girls down by the lockers. She approached them and took in the faces, she could see Momo, Rukia and Soifon. Much to her content the three of them greeted her happily.

'So what are we going to do?' Asked Orihime after they'd concluded their greeting.

'Well it looks like you already met Rukia without me...' Said Momo, thinking. 'So were going to give you a tour of the school.' At this the small brown haired girl smiled brightly, whereas her friends gave looks of annoyance.

Surely they hadn't been trying to be mean, and Orihime soon learned that Momo loved giving new students tours of the school ever since she'd first done it for Soifon last year, and the rountine was getting pretty annoying for the two others.

They began by walking by the science class, in which Momo pointed out three students in particular. They'd been the two boys from homeroom and the girl who'd walked home from school with one of them yesterday. Apparently, during any free moment of the day they could be found here. The pink haired boy was named Szayel and the blue, Mayuri. Orihime also learned that the girl, who was named Nemu, was not Mayuri's girlfriend, but his sister.

Supposedly, these three spent almost all their time together inside of school and out. It had been that way since elementary.

The tour continued as the four girls made their way outside, Soifon pausing before claiming to have forgot something and heading back inside. Orihime spotted, directly in front of them, the four boys from this morning. She watched silently as a glint in Omeada's eyes formed and he immediately left his friends to head for the school entrance.

'He's after her again.' Rukia muttered as the three continued walking.

Momo showed Orihime where they usually ate for lunch, and then told her she'd be free to join anytime she liked. She also pointed out two boys sleeping beneath a tree. both had longish, wavy brown hair and looked strikingly similar. Orihime remembered that one of these boys had been the one Halibel had watched yesterday and today in English class. Their names were Starrk and Shunsui.

After pointing out several other groups of people, Rukia concluded by bringing the two girls up to another final group.

They looked downright depressing. Though, surely they couldn't all have been right? Orihime nodded as Rukia introduced her to her brother, Byakuya. Handsome, but scary. Mome, equally introduced Orihime to a close friend of hers, Izuru Kira.

Orihime accepted the introductions, though her attention was turned somewhere else completely. Among the two boys sat a third. It was Ulquiorra.

She watched him, as he sat, lunch less. She debated hard in her mind, wondering if she should take the opportunity to introduce herself. She stood, watching him for a moment, before he pointedly turned and returned her gaze equally.

She swallowed hard and stepped up to him, setting a bright smile on her face. 'Hi,' She said. 'I'm Orihime Inoue.'

He merely looked at her before answering. 'I know your name, we have two classes together.' His voice was completely emotionless, if not cold.

Trying to repair the conversation, she thought of the first thing that struck her mind. 'Did you already eat your lunch?' She smiled nervously afterwards, and scolded herself internally. Was that honestly all she could think of saying? stupid, stupid, stupid.

'No, I don't not eat lunch.' Was all he said before turning to look away. Orihime retracted herself from the conversation as well, unsure of a suiting reply.

Was he purposely, trying to end the conversation? or did he actually just not eat lunch? The orange haired girl voice her questions to the two girls besides her, as they headed back up towards the lockers.

Rukia laughed. 'Probably both,' She said. 'While it's true that he never eats lunch, he doesn't like to talk to many people either.'

The rest of the day passed in a blur as Orihime thought sadly of Ulquiorra. The moment she'd been looking forward to, talking to him, had been a complete embarrassment. Not only had she asked him a stupid question, he had turned her down. Maybe not everyone at this school was as kind as she'd initially thought.

But, thinking again, the grey eyed girl decided that giving up was not the way to go. She had a plan that would be put into effect starting tomorrow.

Before she knew it, Orihime found herself walking along the road away from school with Nel, Rangiku and Halibel by her side. Nel and Rangiku were talking excitedly about the evening to come, while Halibel remained silent.

Once arrived at Rangiku's, the strawberry blond and green haired girl began pulling clothes out of the wardrobe laying them on the bed. When Orihime asked what was going on, Nel replied shortly. 'Got to look good tonight, don't we?'

Rangiku giggled alongside her and continued pulling out outfits. By the time the two had finished, a veritable pile had been formed. 'Okay Orihime,' Said Rangiku, reaching into the pile. 'Put this on.'

Before long, Orihime had tried on a dozen outfits, all in the attempt to satisfy Rangiku and Nel. When it was finally done, Orihime looked at herself, embarrassed, in the mirror. 'Uh, guys...' She asked suddenly wondering why she was dressed up like this. 'Exactly who are we meeting up with?'

'You'll see.' Both Rangiku and Nel replied with a wink before looking for outfits of their own.

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A/N: sorry if theres any mistakes, i was too lazy to correct it D: so, let me know what you think? reviews? yes please.

AND THANK YOU everyone who reviewed :) i feel the luvvv and send it right back out at you )


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still own nothingggg D:

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Chapter 4

Before long the four girls had left Rangiku's house. They followed a busy main street in the heart of downtown. People were bustling around them, trying to make their own way through the crowds. Orihime couldn't help but to hopelessly wonder where they were going. Nel and Rangiku had gotten her into a nice V neck t-shirt and a mini skirt, obviously in the attempt to show off her assets.

Orihime, unused to this kind of clothing, felt very uncomfortable. Worry getting the best of her, the orange haired girl finally asked her new friends where they were going and who they were meeting, in an almost pleading voice.

'Fine, we'll tell you, but your only spoiling the surprise for yourself!' Nel chided as she continued her happy skipping.

'We're going to see a movie.' Rangiku continued, reaching into her purse and pulling out four tickets for some popular movie.

'You guys still haven't told me who we're meeting with.' Orihime persisted.

Rangiku laughed, 'Don't worry, just friends from school. Grimmjow, Toushiro and Ichigo.' She concluded.

The orange haired girl thought quietly about this for a moment, Ichigo had been more than friendly with her ever since they had first met, but she'd barely spoken a word to the other two. Anyways, why would her friends have dressed her up like this for a silly movie. You can't even see in a movie theatre.

Eventually, the four girls had reached the theatre and headed directly inside to the appropriate screening room. Orihime marvelled at the enormous size of the theatre, back in her old town it was much smaller and definitely not as nice as this one. She watched as crowd of people exited screening rooms and others play in the arcade before being dragged off by an exited Nel.

The screening room itself was equally large, there must have been at least 200 seats still to be filled before them. Orihime followed as the other three girls headed up to the seats in the far back before her. Halibel had taken a seat at the end of the row with Nel directly besides her, already chatting happily. However, Rangiku had left an empty seat between her and the green haired girl.

Automatically Orihime assumed this seat was for her and began to make her way to it. Rangiku, on the other hand, had other plans and grabbed Orihime's arm, pulling the orange haired girl to the seat on the other side of her. This left an empty spot between each group of two girls. Orihime wondered vaguely who would be sitting there.

Luckily, the gap between the four beauties did not seem to interfere in their conversations. They waited patiently, chatting, for the boys to arrive. The screening room began to fill with numerous unknown faces. Seats began to fill and soon the lights would be dimmed to begin playing the previews.

Orihime, preoccupied with watching the theatre fill, did not notice the busty strawberry blond beside her reach into her purse and extract a cell phone. She read the messages that had just been received before announcing that the boys would be entering the theatre at any moment. Orihime looked towards the entrance and sure enough, there entered the three boys.

Toushiro looked thoroughly unimpressed, whereas Ichigo and Grimmjow looked to already be enjoying themselves laughing loudly.

Rangiku stood up after spotting the brightly coloured heads of the three boys and began waving excitedly. Toushiro noticed first, the other two boys distracted. He began heading up towards the group and soon after orange and blue hair followed.

Once close enough to be heard, the strawberry blond called to Toushiro. 'I saved you a seat! right here, next to me!' she exclaimed indicating the seat between her and Nel. The green haired girl on the other hand looked absolutely horrified, obviously she'd been hoping Grimmjow would occupy that seat.

'I'd rather not'. He reply dully walking right passed a fake-pouting Rangiku and choosing one seat down from Orihime. The seat between orange haired girl and Toushiro was quickly snatched up by an eager Ichigo while Grimmjow was left to the seat between an ecstatic Nel and Rangiku. (A/N: if the seating arrangement is unclear, it goes; Halibel, Nel, Grimmjow, Rangiku, Orihime, Ichigo, Toushiro)

Orihime watched as Nel began talking excitedly to Grimmjow, who looked mostly uninterested. It appeared to Orihime as though the two of them didn't share the same feelings for each other. Her gaze then shifted to the blue eyed girls besides her, who was too busy texting to notice the watchful eyes upon her.

However, the orange haired girls attention was finally pulled to the boy besides her when he began speaking. 'I've been waiting to see this movie ever since the previews came out'. He told Orihime. She remembered seeing previews for the movie and unfortunately could not share the same enthusiasm as Ichigo. She simply nodded in reply.

Ichigo continued undiminished, 'So what classes do you have in the afternoon?'

Orihime replied kindly and the conversation continued happily from there. The orange haired girl was delighted to find the boys kindness towards her. She thought it might be awkward, but Ichigo was a great conversationalist. As a matter of fact, the two had to be hushed by an annoyed looking Toushiro as the movie began.

The first half of the movie passed quickly and fine, Orihime was surprised to find that she enjoyed the movie much more than she thought she would. It might have been an action flick, but it had a good bout of humour too. The orange haired girl was so submerged in the movie that she jumped when Rangiku nudged her from beside.

Orihime looked up only to find Rangiku giving her a look. It wasn't necessarily a bad look, but it wasn't good either. She shifted her eyes to the armrest besides Orihime and back onto the orange haired girl all in an instant. Confused, Orihime also looked at the armrest.

Ichigo's arm wrested on it peacefully, his hand facing upwards, open. Orihime looked back into the blue eyes of the girl to her other side. Orihime had no idea what Rangiku was trying to tell her and gave a non-understanding shrug in reply.

Finally, the annoyed strawberry blond pulled Orihime close and whispered in her ear. 'Have you never been to a movie with a boy before?'

Orihime simply shook her head, where was Rangiku getting with all of this?

'He wants you to hold his hand!' She half hissed. Orihime's grey eyes shot to Ichigo's resting hand and then again back onto Rangiku.

'N-no, no. He definitely doesn't want me to do that!' She whispered hurriedly in reply.

'He definitely does'. Rangiku assured her.

Orihime thought for a minute. If only Rangiku hadn't told her, then she wouldn't have to make this decision. It's true that Ichigo is very nice and kind to her, however Orihime wasn't sure if she liked him back. She thought of everyone she'd met so far. No one had yet stuck out to her in a way Ichigo had, but then again... Orihime's mind flashed quickly to the pale figure that was Ulquiorra.

No, there was no way Ulquiorra liked her and she definitely didn't like him. He was just... interesting.

Her grey eyes returned to the hand resting besides her and ever so hesitantly, Orihime lifted her hand to place in Ichigo's. Maybe, just maybe she would give this whole thing a chance.

As her hand touched his own, he seemed surprised but welcomed it graciously. Ichigo had almost thought that the whole movie would pass and she would give no reply to his pending invitation. his laced his fingers between his own and looked over to smile at her. Orihime was looking carefully at their hands before looking up and smiling hesitantly.

Her grey eyes seemed to shine brightly, even in the dim light of the theatre and Ichigo couldn't help but to admire her beauty. Orihime was equally astounded by the kindness of his features, but something in the back of her mind didn't like it. However, she ignored the feeling and continued watching the movie, hand resting in Ichigo's the whole time.

The end of the movie ended on a high note and a big explosion to which Grimmjow cheered excitedly. Nel on the other hand, held a sour expression and Halibel watched her knowingly. And as the lights of the screening room began to brighten and everyone began to satnd, readying themselves to go, Ichigo felt Orihime's hand extract itself from his grip. He quietly noted that she looked rather shy about the whole thing and was probably simply avoiding questioning from her friends.

He laughed a little and smiled at her as she looked up questioningly. Rangiku then grabbed the orange haired girls arm and dragged her to the stairs descending back towards the exit. Everyone, with the exception of Nel looked at ease and in a good mood.

While leaving the theatre Grimmjow recounted the best moments of the movie to a bored looking Halibel, who replied by saying that she was there and already knew. This did not deter him though, because moments later he recounted the same parts of the movie to Toushiro who nodded along. Meanwhile, Rangiku spoke happily with Ichigo and the three other girls walked ahead in silence.

Orihime noted Nel's sour expression and leaned over slightly to whisper in her ear. 'What's wrong?' She asked quietly so that the other wouldn't hear.

Nel simply shook her head and gave Orihime a look that said she would explain later. Orihime nodded slightly and continued her walk to the grand theatre doors to exit. Once the seven of them had finally exited the theatre they began saying their goodbyes, readying themselves to split up. Rangiku's house, were the four girls would be going, was in the opposite direction of the boys homes.

Rangiku gave Toushiro a big hug and Grimmjow laughed while asking why she never gave him any hugs. To Orihime's surprise, Ichigo took this moment to give her a slip of paper with his cell phone number before speaking, 'I had fun'. He said.

'So did I,' Orihime replied with a smile, 'I'll text you sometime'. She then concluded, putting the tiny slip of paper into her bag before turning back to the other two boys to say bye.

As the groups split up Rangiku waved enthusiastically goodbye, while Grimmjow and Ichigo did likewise from across the way. Meanwhile, Nel continued walking away, her arms folded.

Once the boys were out of sight Rangiku turned around quickly and sprung besides Nel. 'So, how did it goooo?' She asked wrapping her arm around the green haired girls.

'I don't want to talk about it.' Nel said harshly.

Rangiku looked thoroughly disappointed, when a voice from besides Orihime spoke up suddenly. 'Grimmjow rejected her'. The blond said emotionlessly.

Rangiku turned on Halibel, mouth open in shock. 'He did?' She asked hurriedly. 'Wait, what happened?'

At this, Nel responded unwillingly. 'I asked him if he wanted to hold hands and he just looked at me and started laughing. He thought I was just joking around'.

Halibel nodded, confirming that this was indeed what happened. Rangiku on the other hand looked thoughtful. 'But he was in such a good mood?' She then asked.

'The movie was just too awesome'. Nel stated firmly adding quotation marks with her fingers to the word "awesome".

'Don't worry about it Nel, your too good for him anyways'. Rangiku then told golden eyed girl in a consoling matter.

Nel seemed to recover quickly after this, stating that she would indeed, just forget about Grimmjow and that there were more important things to discuss right now. To which Rangiku nodded excitedly, while everyone's gaze shifted to Orihime.

'Wh-what?' The orange haired girl asked nervously, even though she knew exactly what was to come. After thinking about it, she really didn't know what to tell them. She didn't want to say that she didn't like Ichigo, but she'd only known him for a couple of days after all. They couldn't honestly expect it to be love, could they?

'Well?' Rangiku persisted when Orihime didn't answer.

The orange haired girl lifted her hand to scratch the back of her head before answering, 'There's not much to tell'. She then said quietly.

'Yeah, right'. Nel snorted, 'Don't think we didn't see you guys holding hands'. She then stated crossing her arms across her large bust. Rangiku simply nodded knowingly.

When Orihime still didn't answer, the strawberry blond continued, 'Well, do you like him? did you give him your phone number? did he ask you out?'

'N-no! He didn't ask me out! and, well, he gave me his number...' Orihime trailed off.

'And?'

'And, I don't know if I like him yet'. Orihime concluded firmly.

'Don't worry about it, you'll figure it out eventually'. Rangiku said with a laugh and smile. 'Anyways, do you know how many girls would be jealous of you right now?'

According to Rangiku, Ichigo was one of the hardest boys to get. He might be friendly with everyone, but he rarely showed real interest in anyone. It had been very surprising when he'd asked the strawberry blond to set the whole movie affair up.

'Wait!' Orihime exclaimed, 'He's the one who set this up?'

'Yeap, I think he's really interested in you'. Rangiku concluded.

After this, Orihime spent the rest of the night in thought. She even left Rangiku's house early because she was so distracted. She didn't want to go for Ichigo right away, there were still so many people she hadn't met. For all she knew her soul mate might sit across class from her, unless her soul mate was Ichigo... No, Orihime decided to stop thinking about things. She was getting way ahead of herself, thinking of soul mates and all.

In any case, there was one thing that night that hadn't skipped Orihime's mind, even through all her deep thinking. She remembered that she had a plan, a plan for tomorrow.

Even though it was late and she was tired, the orange haired girl proceeded to her kitchen to make lunches for tomorrow. One for herself... and one for Ulquiorra. She would surely impress him with her eccentric cooking skills and then maybe he would open up to her. She was sure that persistence was the key.

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A/N : THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE REVIEWS :D I am very grateful!

And please don't kick me with the IchigoxOrihime, its only temporary! I Promise! And I know someone commented on liking the pairings they see here, but trust me they're all changing D: like as in no GrimmjowxNel and what not! but they do have pairings so just wait for it haha.,

Anyways, sorry for the slow update D: I'm taking an online course in 12th grade pre-university English so that I don't have to do it next year ;), unfortunately though, its consuming all my time. So hopefully I can get another update out before the end of the month, but it's not for sure, so bear with me! AND REVIEW ;D!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach or any of it's characters

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Chapter 5

That morning Orihime hurried to school excitedly, lunches packed tightly in her bag. She'd spent a good amount of time perfecting Ulquiorra's soon to be meal, adding just the right amount of barbecue sauce and ceasar dressing. The orange haired girl was certain he'd appreciate it.

Orihime had also left her house slightly earlier than usual. With time to spare, she walked slowly and took the time to notice what a beautiful day it was turning out to be. The sun shown bright and the temperature was just perfect. She admired the green leaves hanging overhead and even stopped to smell some flowers before being poked in the side.

She turned her head quickly, only to have to look down at the tiny brunette besides her. Momo's smile widened as she greeted Orihime.

'Your awfully early today'. The small girl stated, eyebrow raised.

'Yeah...' Orihime lifted her hand to scratch the back of her neck, thinking of a good excuse for being out so early. 'It just looked so nice out, you know?'

Momo nodded her head in affirmation. The two girls walked side by side for a while longer until it occurred to Orihime, that she also wanted to know why Momo went to school so early. She asked.

'Uh, well...' Momo began blushing slightly. 'You promise not to tell?'

Orihime wondered vaguely what it could be that would make Momo blush, but nonetheless, nodded in agreement.

'Well, you see, there's this guy...' She trailed off for a moment, before deciding on the proper words to describe the boy. 'He always hangs out in the computer lab before class starts'.

Orihime couldn't help herself, 'Are you guys dating? Momo, why didn't you tell me?'

'No, no. We're not dating, I don't even think he's ever noticed me. I just go to the computer lab in the morning too, so that maybe he will...' She finished blushing even more than before.

'What's his name?' Orihime suddenly asked, curious as to who this mysterious boy could be.

'Aizen'. Said Momo in reply.

The name sounded familiar to the orange haired girl. She was sure she'd heard it before. And then it hit her; he was in their English class. The brown haired guy was fairly good looking, surprisingly so. Though he did hang out with some strange kids, like that Gin Ichimaru and Wonderweiss.

'Hey, Orihime?' Momo suddenly inquired. 'Do you want to come with me today, to the computer lab?'

And before Momo could say another word Orihime had excitedly nodded her head. She definitely wanted to go and support her new friend. Truth be told, she was mostly just happy. She was also glad to have gained the other girls trust, it was nice fitting in so easily.

They'd spent the remainder of the walk talking happily. Orihime recounted the events of the night before and explained in great detail the movie they'd seen. Momo had been equally surprised to hear of Ichigo's interest in her and looked thoughtful for a moment. It was surprising then, when the two girls had reached the front doors of the school.

They entered and followed the maze-like halls to their lockers, still laughing and talking. Splitting up momentarily, they each headed for their own lockers. Orihime began unpacking her things when Rangiku stepped up besides her.

'Orihime! What are you doing here so early?' She asked, while flipping her hair behind her shoulder with a bright smile.

'No reason, what about you?' The orange haired girl replied elusively.

'I had to fill out some paperwork in the office, but I'm done now.' She replied with ease while searching her locker. After another moment, she turned to Orihime and continued with a big smile, 'so your just in time to keep me company!'

How could Orihime tell Rangiku that she'd be spending the morning with Momo? She couldn't exactly invite the strawberry blond along when it wasn't for her to decide. She stood momentarily, thinking hard of an excuse to free herself, only to have Momo walk up right besides her. 'Ready to go?' She asked.

Rangiku raised a brow. 'Where are you guys going?' She asked quickly.

'Uhmmm...' Orihime said lamely.

'Do you want to come, Rangiku?' Momo asked in reply, shocking Orihime.

Rangiku, now smiling again replied, 'Definitely. So where are we going?'

'The computer lab'. Said Momo casually. In reply, Rangiku simply nodded knowingly.

Along the way, Orihime learned that apparently the two girls had always been friends. High school had just caused them to separate into different social groups. Even though they hardly talked, Rangiku still knew about Aizen and had frequently joined the tiny brunette to the computer lab in their first year of high school.

'Why don't you eat lunch with us next time, then?' Orihime asked.

Momo thought about it for a minute before responding, 'I'd feel bad leaving my friends behind'.

'Just invite them along'. Rangiku then told her.

'I don't know, Soifon can be a little bit awkward at times...' She said, breaking for a moment and continuing again. ' I'll try suggesting it to them though'.

Seconds later a door lay ahead of the three girls, Rangiku excitedly took the knob and twisted it, swinging the door open. Orihime looked around the room and noted that Aizen was indeed in the room, as well as his friend Gin. Rangiku then bounced over to a single computer, right across from the two boys, a mischievous grin playing at her lips.

Momo turned bright red as soon as she saw where Rangiku was headed. Orihime in turn, grabbed Momo's hand and made for her to follow. Evidently the small girl had never dared sit so close to the brown haired boy.

Finally, all seated, Rangiku turned on the computer and waited patiently for it to start. She looked at Momo, and, with her eyes, urged Momo to speak. In return, the tiny brunette shook her head quickly, blushing brighter still.

Sighing and giving up on Momo, the strawberry blond began a conversation with Orihime. 'So this is the computer lab, it's always open. You know, in case you need to print stuff or work on projects'. She stated in a bored tone.

Orihime nodded, feeling bad for the poor little Momo, who was far too shy to join in, 'That's good'.

And to all their surprise, a voice across from them spoke up. 'Ya can play games too, ya know? Like World a' Warcraft an' stuff'. It wasn't Aizen, but Gin who'd spoken. And he was looking intently at Rangiku as he did so.

She looked back at him an eyebrow raised, and spoke to Orihime all at once. 'You can also always find this kid here, too.' She turned to look at Orihime before continuing, 'All the cool kids spend their free time in here'. Rangiku finished in a completely ironic voice and a smirk.

'So ya think I'm cool?' Gin asked, a smile playing at his lips, obviously noting the irony.

Rangiku simply looked at him, before laughing aloud and replying, 'Your funnier than I would've expected'. She told him.

'Don't underestimate me'. He said, grinning. And even though Orihime thought it was rather creepy, apparently the strawberry blond did not.

'Are you done, Gin?' Asked Aizen suddenly, 'We're starting a raid'.

'Ya, ya...' Gin trailed off before shifting his focus from Rangiku to his computer.

Rangiku looked a little put out by Aizen's rudeness, but ignored it for the moment. The strawberry blond then turned to Momo and gave her a look. Obviously meaning to say something along the lines of; 'You better talk to him next time'.

In reply to the look, Momo simply nodded, while Orihime sat between the two and watch the mostly in confusion. They understood each other pretty well, considering they never spoke anymore.

In the end, Rangiku grabbed her things and began heading for the door. Momo followed looking back at Aizen over her shoulder, while Orihime observed from behind. The three girls split up to go to their lockers and prepare for their first class.

Lunch came quickly in Orihime's state of excitement. She'd spent most of English class trying to avoid conversations with Ichigo, it wasn't that she didn't want to talk with him, but she was worried he might invite her to lunch or something when she already had other plans. Which consisted of paying a visit to the mysterious Ulquiorra Schiffer.

She imagined that Ichigo wouldn't have such a great reaction if he knew what she was going to do, he was 'interested' in her after all. But she couldn't help herself, there was something about Ulquiorra that she couldn't resist. Maybe it was her determination to make friends, or maybe she simply wanted him to accept her just because he didn't. It was just like that saying; you always want what you can't have.

In any case, the orange haired girl slyly avoided her friends at the sound of the bell and quickly collected her lunch things, before retracing her steps from the previous day. She was going to look in the most logical spot, which was the place where she'd first spoken to him, and also been introduced to Byakuya and Kira.

It must have been their usual lunch spot, because sure enough, there they sat. As Orihime approached, she realized that she had no idea what to say. Sure, she'd put a lot of effort into making Ulquiorra a lunch, but if she couldn't even talk to him, how would she manage to offer a lunch to him?

Growing closer and closer, Ulquiorra's friends seemed to notice her presence. Byakuya simply nodded at her, and Kira gave a small smile before continuing to eat his meal.

Hesitantly, Orihime spoke, 'Hi, Ulquiorra'. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she waited for a response.

He simply looked up at her, expression never changing. 'Hi'.

Orihime couldn't help herself, she smiled. He'd answered her and that was something, right? She was convinced he was going to downright ignore her, but he didn't. 'Do you mind if I sit?' She then asked quietly.

He only nodded before turning his head away again, looking nowhere in particular. Meanwhile, Orihime took a seat across from him.

'So... How are you?' She asked she asked hesitantly, not wanting to ruin how far she'd gotten already.

Ulquiorra looked back at her, and for once she saw a slight shift in his facial emotions. She hated to admit it, but she would have sworn to have spotted a hint of annoyance on his features. She pursued anyways, smiling and hopefully encouraging him to answer.

He watched her for a moment longer and finally opened his mouth to speak. 'Fine, I guess'. His voice was cold and smooth, she liked it. But was thoroughly disappointed that that was all he had to say. And afterwards, he turned his head away again.

'That's good...' She trailed off, wondering how to bring about the subject of his lunch. And still, not yet entirely sure on how to offer the meal, she tried anyways. 'Hey, so Ulquiorra... Since you told me that you never have a lunch... I thought I'd make an extra one for you today...'

The raven head turned slowly back to her, a new emotion showing itself clearly on his face. With an eyebrow raised in question, Ulquiorra did not reply. He simply watched as Orihime placed the lunch on the table and opened it.

And Ulquiorra, though never showing it, was surprised. He hadn't expected the woman to take so much interest in him, let alone make him a lunch. His large emerald eyes looked from the lunch to the girls smiling face and back again, wondering vaguely what she had to offer.

Orihime took the top off the container that held the masterpiece of a lunch. She looked up excitedly, sure that the expression on Ulquiorra's face would be one of pure joy. However, she was devastated to see a look of disgust plastered on his features, even Kira and Byakuya had looked over to see what the smell was.

Needless to say, Ulquiorra was not impressed. Was the woman joking or something? Who would offer such a horrific meal to anyone, anyways? From what Ulquiorra could tell there was some chicken in a pink kind of sauce and some kind of green vegetable, with some watermelon chunks on top to complete the meal.

At that moment, Kira spoke up from his end of the table. 'Orihime, what exactly is that?'

She looked to him and smiled nervously, 'It's barbecue-ceasar salad, with extra sauce, chicken, watermelons and corn'. The orange haired girl concluded her explanation.

'I see the extra sauce part, but I don't see the corn'. Stated Byakuya suddenly from besides Kira.

'I'm sure it's in here somewhere...' Orihime replied, grabbing a fork and digging through the mess of pink sauce.

Meanwhile, Ulquiorra could not take it any longer. He stood from where he sat and began to leave the table. Unfortunately for him, the grey eyed girl noticed.

'Wait!' She exclaimed. 'Don't you want to try some?' She looked truly crestfallen, apparently the meal she'd prepared had been a serious attempt to please him.

'No'. He said simply, turning to walk away, before pausing and finally saying, 'Try making something edible next time, woman'.

At this, Orihime was surprisingly comforted. She was worried it was only her who he did not like, but maybe the food was just not to his liking. In the end, she smiled and yelled, 'I will!' While Ulquiorra continued his path, undisturbed.

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A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! And please keep them coming ;D they make me want to keep writing.

Also if anyone has any suggestions for Orihime's future attempts at lunches, please suggest them! I had no idea what to say for this chapter haha.

AND, AND , AND! who read the latest bleach chapters? and died at the Gin Rangiku meeting? cause I did. D:

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and review, review, review for another update ;)!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing, again *sigh*

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Chapter 6

The rest of the day passed quickly, and as odd as it all sounded, Orihime was not as disappointed as she should have been. She'd expected reluctance from Ulquiorra, even to be ignored. But the fact that he'd paused to tell her to try making some edible next time, meaning there would be a next time, comforted her slightly.

Once home Orihime spent a great deal of time thinking about the raven haired boy, for some reason he would not leave her thoughts.

She was the type to never give and therefore spent a lot of her time trying to think up a good meal for Ulquiorra. She'd even asked his friends what he might like, though they weren't sure themselves.

So, by the end of the day, Orihime had concluded that she would not make a lunch for Ulquiorra tomorrow, but research instead. She would ask around and find out what the boy liked, if anyone actually knew. And if not, she would try making him something she might like again.

As Orihime prepared for bed, she was shocked to find her cell phone vibrating. She'd been so distracted that the noise made her jump. Grey eyes watching the phone intently, Orihime walked over and picked up the phone, curious of who it might be.

_1 New Message_

_From: Ichigo_

The orange haired girl was surprised, she'd completely forgotten about Ichigo. And she'd even avoided him all day.

It was at that very moment that Orihime began to feel guilty. She knew full well that Ichigo liked her, but she hadn't paid any attention to him.

The message itself was a simple goodnight, to which Orihime responded happily. She'd also decided that maybe tomorrow she would spend some time with Ichigo. He was after all very nice to her, and she wouldn't be needing to visit Ulquiorra tomorrow anyways.

The orange haired girl laid herself in bed and waited for sleep to come.

-

That morning Orihime coincidently met up with Soifon again along the way to school. The two girls talked happily while walking the rest of the sunlit path together.

And at around the same area as the last time both grey eyed girls took a detour and went around to the back of the school. An intent looking Omeada had been waiting by the front entrance and Soifon had no intention of heading his way.

As the two girls entered the school and headed to their lockers, Orihime was surprised to find Nel waiting for her. Soifon, surprisingly, followed Orihime to Nel and listened to the conversation shared between the two girls.

'Hey, what's up?' Orihime asked quickly, wondering why the green haired girl was alone. 'Where's Rangiku and Halibel?'

'I don't know!' She suddenly exclaimed. 'Usually at least Rangiku's here by this time, but today she's not. So I didn't know what to do with myself'.

Orihime laughed, 'Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be here soon'. And with those simple words Nel perked up significantly, it was amazing how quickly her mood could change.

Suddenly a voice spoke up from beside Orihime, it was Soifon, 'Actually, I think I know where your friend might be'.

Again Nel looked even happier, she gave Soifon an encouraging nod indicating for her to continue.

'Momo said something about Rangiku tagging along to the computer lab yesterday at lunch, maybe she's there again?'

Orihime wondered vaguely what reason Rangiku would have for following Momo to the computer lab more than just once. And suddenly it hit her, the silver haired boy, Gin, was probably Rangiku's reasoning. Well, either that or she was trying to be a supportive friend to Momo.

So, after quickly placing their things into the lockers, the three girls made their way to the computer lab to check.

Peeking in through the door window one by one, their suspicions were confirmed. From what they could see Rangiku and Gin were having a very intimate discussion at which Momo looked rather embarrassed and Aizen, well he just looked annoyed.

Part of Orihime wanted to march into the room and get Momo to start a conversation with Aizen. It was the perfect opportunity, both of their friends were already in deep conversation, so why couldn't the two of them also be? They could share comments about how annoying Gin and Rangiku were being, or something... Anything! But no, Momo had to sit there blushing and watching, doing nothing.

Orihime finally decided she would intrude, all in Momo's best interest, of course. However, as she made to grab the door handle someone stopped her. Surprisingly, it was Soifon.

It was odd because Soifon hadn't even been watching Orihime, she was looking directly besides her. Orihime followed her gaze passed Nel, who was also now looking to her side, all the way to the end of the hall. And there lay the answer, it was Omeada. It was as if he always knew where to find Soifon.

Immediately the tiny black haired girl pulled Orihime by the arm and headed for the other end of the hallway. Nel followed quickly behind, looking over her shoulder the whole time.

Once around the corner Soifon stopped, 'Do you think he saw me?' She asked in a hurried whisper. Orihime simply shrugged, unsure.

'He definitely saw you'. Nel suddenly said, looking slightly confused.

'Then we have to go, right n-'

But before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off by a voice yelling out. 'Soifon! Hey, Soifon, wait!' It was Omeada, steadily approaching from around the corner.

Just as Soifon made to keep going, the large boy appeared from around the corner heaving. Orihime couldn't quite understand his tiredness, he'd only chased them down one hallway...

In any case, he reached out and placed a hand on the tiny girls shoulder, preventing her from going any further. She turned on him instantly, a look of pure disgust and annoyance on her face.

'I said not to touch me. You're disgusting'. Soifon's voice was cold, chilling even.

Orihime was completely shocked by the small girls hostility. The orange haired girl had never expected Soifon, who was always running away from Omeada, to tell him off so harshly. She couldn't understand Soifon's need to run when she clearly wasn't afraid of being cruel.

Omeada released Soifon's shoulder, a look of pain sweeping across his features. And it was then that Orihime understood the small girls need to run, because only seconds later, Omeada was back to his previous self smiling and trying to talk with Soifon again. It made sense that when the tiny girls harsh words couldn't even sway the large man, her only other option was to avoid him.

Nel took a step closer to Orihime watching Omeada and Soifon hesitantly. Orihime, also watching noticed that Soifon looked as if she was ready to punch Omeada in the face. Which, Orihime was now sure, Soifon wouldn't hesitate to do.

Thankfully, before it came to that, someone else came running around the corner. He was tall and skinny, with long black hair. Nnoitra, if Orihime remembered correctly.

He stopped for a minute, eyes instantly landing on Nel. He seemed frozen for a moment and everyone watched him confused. Finally, he snapped out of it and turned to Omeada.

'Hey you don't want the same thing to happen as last time do you?' He suddenly asked with a bark of laughter, acting as if nothing had just happened.

Omeada looked at Nnoitra, a look of humiliation crossing his face. He blushed brightly and tried to give Nnoitra a look that told his friend to shut his mouth.

Nnoitra simply laughed again, ignoring his friends desperate look. 'C'mon, you should leave her alone, or she'll beat you as badly as last time'.

Judging by the look on Omeada's face, Orihime and Nel could tell that Nnoitra wasn't lying. The orange haired girl wouldn't have believed it, had she not seen the display in front of her just moments earlier. Evidently, this was what Halibel had meant in saying not to call Soifon cute, because she was tough.

Omeada said a hurried goodbye and left the corridor instantly, meanwhile Nnoitra waited for his friend to leave and introduced himself. 'Hey, so anyways, sorry about him'. He motioned to behind him. 'And by the way, names Nnoitra'.

Again Orihime watched as he looked mainly at Nel, who returned his gaze curiously not saying anything.

'Yea, thank you'. Soifon suddenly replied, forcing Nnoitra to look her way.

'Anytime'. He replied, turning to walk away. 'Later'.

Instants later he had disappeared around the corner and Orihime turned to Nel instantly. 'He definitely likes you'. She stated, at which Soifon nodded absentminded while Nel shook her head vigorously.

'Even if he did, he's not my type'. She then told them flatly. Orihime replied by murmuring something about Nel and being in denial.

Slowly the three girls made their back to the lockers, while the bell rang in the background. There they found Rangiku and Momo, talking quietly between themselves. The tiny brown haired girl looked as though she was in distress.

Nel skipped over to them, and quickly leaned in front of Momo, 'What's wrong?' She asked.

Momo had apparently not been expecting it, because she practically jumped away. 'N-nothing'. She replied hurriedly, not comfortable with revealing things to Nel, with whom she barely ever spoke.

Rangiku, sensing Momo's discomfort changed the subject quickly, 'Hey, guys! we're gonna be late for class'. Then, she grabbed Orihime and Momo by the wrists and dragged them off towards their classroom, Soifon followed swiftly behind.

Once arrived in the room, the girls split up and headed for their respective seats. Once seated besides Rangiku, Orihime leaned in and asked the strawberry blond what the problem seemed to be.

'Momo tried talking to Aizen today...' She trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. Orihime noted, that it must have not gone as smoothly as planned, because Rangiku did not look too pleased.

Orihime nodded, urging Rangiku to continue. 'He told her that she was annoying and to stop coming to the computer lab every morning'. Rangiku looked pained, 'I think it's my fault, because I distract Gin whenever I'm there'. She finally said quickly.

Orihime could see Rangiku's point, but that was no reason for Aizen to be harsh towards Momo. She was such a nice girl.

'Anyways, I'll think of something to make it up to her'. The strawberry blond finally declared, smiling in triumph and suddenly looking towards the classroom door, where Ichigo and Toushiro had just entered.

* * *

A/N: Thank you everyone for all your reviews and alerts and everything else, they make me so happy!and especially you, blackwingsgreeneyes, you rule :D

Sorry for taking so long to update! but I just finished my online course like two days ago ;), so I'll try to update weekly from now on.

Anyways, I hope everyone likes the story so far, and REVIEW if you do ;D!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: you already know ... D':

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Chapter 7

Ulquiorra was just a little bit surprised, nothing more. The reason was because he'd expected the woman to bring him a lunch again and she hadn't. He could read people quite well and from what he saw in her, he could tell she was persistent. But perhaps this time around he was wrong.

It made no difference in the end, whether she brought him a lunch or not. Odds were that Ulquiorra would probably have not eaten it anyways.

He sat in his usual lunch place, Izuru and Byakuya also. He watched the people passing by, hardly noticing anyone in particular. He then looked at his two friends, they may not be overly social, but they were being oddly silent.

Ulquiorra turned to Byakuya and began a simple conversation about something in math class and then another about how annoying Renji Abarai was. Byakuya nodded distractedly while Ulquiorra degraded Renji further, which was very odd.

Out of all students, Renji was the one Byakuya despised the most, he was simply just too annoying. Ulquiorra therefore wondered why the man was not taking his fair share of shots at Renji.

However, Ulquiorra did not need to ask Byakuya what the problem was. From besides them, the blond boy spoke up. 'What's the matter with you?'

Byakuya looked up from his meal and seeming to just now realize he was sitting between the two other boys. Sighing, he explained. 'It's Rukia. She kept me up most of the night'.

'What did she do?' Izuru pursued, clearly searching for more details.

'She just wouldn't leave me alone,' Byakuya continued, 'it seemed that she felt the need to vent to me about all her feelings and frustrations'.

Ulquiorra thought vaguely about how ridiculous some people could be. It was a matter of controlling your own emotions, and apparently Byakuya's sister, among many others, was incapable of doing it.

'Learn anything interesting?' The blond boy finally asked.

'She likes some boy,' Byakuya paused momentarily and then continued cutting Izuru off before he could ask who it was, 'She refused to tell me his name, but she wouldn't stop talking about his brilliantly warm smile and kind ways for the majority of the night'.

Ulquiorra finally felt it was his turn to inquire, just a little bit curious also. 'Who do you think it is?'

'I have no idea...' Byakuya replied, thinking.

'Maybe it's Hanataro, he's really nice, right? And they're about the same height too'. Izuru told both boys, an all-knowing look plastered to his features.

'I highly doubt it'. Byuakuya replied, clearing the look off the blond boys face. 'She said her new friend is currently "seeing" him, and I don't think Hanataro even knows how to interact with females'.

Ulquiorra wondered who this person might be. Rukia's new friend was evidently someone who just transferred to the school this year because she was already friends with virtually everyone else.

Then he thought of something else, which cracked the smallest of smiles on his face. It was a curiously funny thought; what if Rukia liked Renji? He could already imagine Byakuya banging his head rather viciously again a wall in frustration, which would likely be the actual reaction in that situation.

However, Ulquiorra knew it was impossible for Rukia to like Renji, it was true that they were friends, but he'd known them both for many years and it was obvious Rukia didn't see him like that. The unlucky red head was never going to get a girlfriend, he was just too weird.

It was already lunch and Orihime found herself on the roof of the school, sitting across from Rangiku who was avidly discussing the matter of her weekend with Nel. The orange haired girl then looked to her side and saw Ichigo watch the other two girls with a perplexed look on his face. Orihime figured he was just confused by their very lively and excited way of speaking.

Sensing her gaze, he also turned his brown eyes to her and smiled. 'You know, we should do something too this weekend'. He said.

Rangiku's head snapped towards them both in an instant. 'I know!' She exclaimed before Orihime could reply. 'There's a festival in town this weekend, we could all go!'

'Errr, yeah...' Evidently Ichigo had something else in mind planned for the weekend, however he decided that maybe the festival wasn't such a bad idea because then he continued in a much more reassuring tone. 'That might be nice'.

Rangiku nodded energetically and looked at Nel, 'Anyone you wanna invite?' She then asked with a wink.

Nel blushed furiously, 'Obviously not'. She reply coldly.

'What wrong with her?' Ichigo then asked the Strawberry blond.

'Grimmjow didn't tell you?' Rangiku paused waiting for a response, only to have Ichigo shake his head. 'Well, he rejected her at the movies the other day'. The blue eyed girl concluded.

'He did? Wait - You like Grimmjow?' Ichigo looked positively baffled. 'What would make you like him?' He then asked more specifically.

Nel looked pissed, surely she hadn't wanted Ichigo to know about her and Grimmjow. 'It doesn't matter anymore'. She said crossing her arms.

Ichigo did not pursue, it was obvious Nel wouldn't have answered even if he did.

'So anyways, I'll take care of invitations...' Rangiku then said, stopping momentarily, a look of wonder on her face. 'Anyone in particular we should invite?' She finally asked.

Ichigo told her to invite Toushiro, at which she fully agreed. They'd also decided that Grimmjow would be attending, despite Nel's protests. They couldn't just leave him out, besides he was great fun to hang out with anyways.

Rangiku also declared that she would be bringing her own guest along with her as well, though she refused to say who. But it didn't matter because Orihime knew instantly who it was, she wondered if he would get along with everyone else alright? Sure, he and Rangiku got along great, but Gin was pretty creepy all around in general. In the end, she dismissed the thought and focussed again on the conversation ahead of her.

'I'll invite Momo too, and her other friends, Soifon and Rukia?' The blue eyed girl said, Orihime noted a mischievous glint in Rangiku's eyes as she said Momo's name, the orange haired girl was left to wonder what Rangiku was planning.

Lunch break finished shortly afterwards and everyone headed to their respected classrooms.

Orihime took her seat besides Momo and Soifon in the math classroom. They greeted her pleasantly and the orange haired girl noted that Momo seemed to be in a good mood oppose to earlier that morning.

Unfortunately there wasn't much time to chat because the teacher didn't tolerate talking whatsoever once class had started.

Orihime was rather disappointed by this aspect because after spotting a head of raven hair across the room, she remembered her mission. The orange haired girl had promised herself that she would find out what Ulquiorra liked to eat.

She finally decided to ask Momo and Soifon, they were the least likely to question her motives. Besides they were sitting right next to her already.

Finally, Orihime ripped a piece of paper from her binder and scrawled her message in the most elusive way possible, trying to avoid suspicion from her two friends.

_Is it true that that Ulquiorra guy never eats lunch?_ She then passed the note besides her and awaited a reply.

Moments later, she noted Momo's handwriting and read; _I think so, yea._

Orihime thought for a second before lifting her pencil to write again.

_So you've never seen him eat anything before?_ She asked on the slip of paper and passed it again to her side.

This time, both Momo and Soifon had replied. Momo's tiny cursive simply stated that she'd never seen Ulquiorra eat. However Soifon's reply was different. _I did once._ Was what she said.

Both hurriedly and excitedly, Orihime furthered her questioning.

_And? What was he eating?_

Orihime watched as Soifon took the paper and read it perplexed. She finally wrote her reply and handed it back to Orihime.

_He was eating a sandwich._

Orihime thought she might cry, after all who didn't eat sandwiches? It was hardly the answer she'd been looking for. However, she finally accepted it wordlessly and decided that it was better than nothing. Tomorrow she would try to make him a sandwich.

The Orange haired girl ended up spending the majority of her afternoon brainstorming and deciding on what Ulquiorra might like on his sandwich.

She crossed a few things off the list she'd made herself as the class progressed, realizing that maybe the raven haired boy might not be so interested in them. And by the end of the day Orihime had finalized her sandwich plan and headed home with a happy smile on her face.

Furthermore, the orange haired girl was delighted to find herself walking home alongside Soifon. Apparently the two lived close by each other because they seemed to always meet along their way.

'What's got you so happy?' Soifon asked suddenly, noting Orihime's sparkling eyes.

'Just had a good day'. She replied casually.

'Mhmm'. Soifon replied, turning her gaze back in front of her. 'Anyways, what was that whole note about?' She then asked.

Orihime paused for a second, not knowing how to reply. She didn't want Soifon thinking she liked Ulquiorra or something, she was suppose to like Ichigo. The orange haired girl thought up a quick excuse and voiced it. 'Well, someone told me he never ate lunch, and the other day I saw him without one... so you know, I was just wondering'.

Soifon simply nodded uninterested and Orihime, internally, let out a breath of relief.

'Soooo...' Orihime then began, thinking of a new subject besides Ulquiorra. 'If you don't like Omeada, do you like anyone else?'

Soifon looked at Orihime unimpressed. 'No I don't like anyone else, all guys are the same'. She said.

'What do you mean?'

'You know, they all think I'm some weak little girl, even after I beat them up'. The black haired girl concluded crossing her arms.

'Maybe you should just give them a chance...'Orihime suggested quietly.

'I'll pass, until maybe I meet someone who acknowledges me properly'.

Orihime nodded in reply, surely Soifon had a point. She understood quite well too. It was evident that Omeada still thought she was a cute little girl, even though the raven haired girl had apparently beaten him up more than once.

Then Orihime was left to think of all the other tragic love stories going on around her. Poor Nel had been rejected by Grimmjow, who she'd liked forever. And even sweet little Momo had been told off by the boy she liked. Why did Aizen have to be so cruel?

It seemed that only she and Rangiku had things working to their favour. Apparently things were going rather smoothly between the busty strawberry blond and Gin Ichimaru, which Orihime still found rather surprising. Rangiku could probably have any guy in the school and yet she chose the, err, strangest.

To top it off, Orihime had heard on good authority that Hisagi Shuhei had a major crush on the blue eyed girl. He would surely be more than disappointed to find out that she'd chosen Gin over him. But as long as Rangiku was happy, Orihime saw no problem in the matter, besides Shuhei was good looking, he could probably find himself another girl any time he wanted to.

Finally Soifon said her goodbyes and headed down another street while she continued ahead to her own home. She was brimming with excitement and couldn't wait to make Ulquiorra his lunch.

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A/N: Panda Muffins, I am currently hugging you through the internet. you completely made my day :D and inspired me to finish writing this chapter ;D, I also wanna thank everyone else especially twilighthippie1 and blackwingsgreeneyes who commented on every chapter so far :) and also almightysteelshoe and retromayhem for leaving such wonderful and long comments!

and sorry for not updating weekly like I said D: I'm just too lazy, but I already know what I'm going to write about next chapter so hopefully it's up quickly ;)

hope you all enjoy this chapter and sorry for spelling errors ;p AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW ;D!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, *dies*

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Chapter 8

Orihime had hardly noticed Halibel's absence as of late until she walked into their English classroom and spotted the blond sitting in her usual spot.

It wasn't that the blond girl had missed any classes, but more so that she hadn't been present during lunch or any of their free time. As a matter of fact, aside from homeroom and English class, the orange haired girl hardly ever saw her friend.

She wondered vaguely if Halibel was simply avoiding her friends for some reason, but the orange haired girl dismissed the thought immediately. Halibel might have been quiet most of the time, but she definitely did not seem like the type to hold grudges against her friends.

Orihime slipped through the desk and crowd of chatting students until she reached her desk, taking a seat. After placing her things down she turned to Halibel, decidedly starting a conversation.

'Where were you at lunch yesterday?' She asked with a smile.

Halibel turned her gaze from whatever she'd been watching to Orihime, seeming to just notice she was there. She thought about her answer for an instant before speaking, 'I had some things to take care of'.

Her answer may have been a tad bit vague, but she did not feel the need to reveal the details of her affairs to the orange haired girl. She liked Orihime, but was not willing to share such things with her, when they didn't even remotely concern her.

Orihime did not pursue the topic, knowing it was not her place to intrude on the blonds privacy. However she did ask Halibel some questions regarding their English homework before turning her full attention to the orange haired boy who'd just taken his seat in front of them.

Halibel allowed her attention to return to the doorway, waiting and watching until a certain brown haired male entered the room.

The beautiful blond was still curious as to how, after all these years, her relationship with Starrk could continuously evolve. She watched as he walked through the doorway and made his way to a seat besides Ulquiorra.

She even smiled, despite herself, when he closed his eyes and seemingly fell asleep. And beneath the smile, she felt the odd urge to scold him for sleeping in class, but refrained from doing so. Even if Starrk slept through class he would still manage to get higher marks than the majority of them.

Shaking her head and looking away, Halibel shared a quick knowing glance with Ulquiorra.

And she couldn't help but think that of course Ulquiorra knew and understood the situation, it would be evident to anyone who'd gone to school with them for their whole lives such as he had.

She could still remember the first day, when Ulquiorra had been dropped off in class crying for his mother. It was hard to believe he was still the same person, he'd come a long way.

In that moment the blond couldn't help but to also remember her green haired friend, who she'd also gone to elementary school with. Halibel had seen Nel earlier that morning and was slightly surprised as to what kind of company she held. It was still hard to believe that the beautiful girl had been walking alongside none other than Nnoitra Jiruga.

Thinking back again to her earlier school days, she could remember their loathing for each other. She remembered Nnoitra boasting, saying he was better than Nel because he was a boy. And she could even remembered Grimmjow and Yammy standing behind him, as if to back him up, though they did not look completely convinced.

Unfortunately for Nnoitra, back then, things were much different. Despite his outstanding height now, he had not always been so tall. In fact, he had been one of the shortest kids in class at the time, waiting for a growth spurt to hit.

And because of this, Nel was able to beat him up without a second thought.

It was a sad day for Nnoitra, and from that moment forth he and Nel had always hated each other. They barely looked at each other back then and if they ever did, it was with spiteful glares and bared teeth.

Halibel imagined that the two of them had probably not even seen each other since starting high school. Their classes were probably far from similar and they hung out with very different people, so what possible force could have brought them together?

In any case, the blond glanced back to her orange haired friend, who was still having an animate conversation with Ichigo, before setting out her things and waiting for class to finally begin.

.

Orihime was excited when lunch finally came around. She snuck away from her friends unnoticed with two lunches in hand.

Indeed, she'd put a lot of time, thought and effort into Ulquiorra's lunch and couldn't wait to give it to him. She thought that surely, this time it would be more to his taste. And if not, well he would definitely still appreciate the effort involved, right?

Walking quickly, going with the flow of the crowds, Orihime exited through the large front doors of the school and looked around for the head of raven hair.

Sure enough, just as always, there he sat. Byakuya and Izuru by his side as usual.

And Orihime was surprised to see him talking with his two companions, she hadn't doubted his abilities to communicate with others, but she had yet to see it. For her, it was a sign that Ulquiorra was probably in a good mood, despite his constantly uninterested expression.

She walked towards the group preparing herself, deciding on what to say, how to explain the dish.

Once finally arrived it wasn't until both Byakuya and Izuru looked up at her that Ulquiorra followed suit. Bright green eyes stared directly into her own, questioning her sudden appearance.

It was awkwardly quiet and Orihime finally cleared her voice, 'Hey guys'. She then said hesitantly.

Izuru smiled at her and replied, 'Hey Orihime, what brings you here?' Though the answer was most likely evident.

Orihime lifted the spare lunch in her hand and smiled, 'I brought a lunch for Ulquiorra'.

Byakuya gave a devious little laugh, very out of character and spoke, 'Why don't you sit down and eat with us then'. And even though Orihime couldn't tell, Ulquiorra was sure that Byakuya was doing it to mock him in some way.

It was easy to understand his reasoning considering the last lunch Orihime had brought, but despite it all Ulquiorra spoke up anyways. 'You brought me lunch?' He questioned, hardly raising a brow.

Orihime simply nodded and placed it down in front of the jade eyed boy, who watched it suspiciously.

The orange haired girl was beyond excited to see his reaction, and was very proud of herself for approaching the group so fearlessly. She smiled brightly and waited for Ulquiorra to open it up, which apparently he had no intention of doing.

Because indeed, the raven haired boy was left wondering what lay within the wrapping and was very hesitant on opening it. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it might be, considering the thing she'd brought him last time.

But apparently Orihime was not the only one waiting for Ulquiorra to open the lunch because soon Izuru spoke up, 'Are you gunna open that anytime soon?' he asked with a small smile.

Ulquiorra turned his gaze to the blond boy before finally sighing and nodding.

He reached out and opened up the wrapping, almost dreading what it might be. Wondering even more, why he was going through with this, why he hadn't simply told the girl to leave, why he'd even suggested to her to make him something again. There was just something about her sparkling eyes and bright smile that wouldn't allow him to say no, he didn't want to be the one to break her spirit.

And so, the meal was revealed. Orihime gave a small squee the moment it was shown, awaiting Ulquiorra's approval.

The raven haired boy for that matter could not see any immediate deficiencies with the food, it was just a sandwich after all. Only a sandwich. It was almost more surprising than having seen something gross, because it was so unexpected.

It also seemed that Byakuya had lost interest in that moment and Ulquiorra was left to decide whether he would eat it or not all on his own.

Despite himself, he decided to try it. To simply try the sandwich, the woman would be pleased and then perhaps leave him in peace.

As the jade eyed boy finally decided and reached out to grab the sandwich he was stopped by Orihime's sudden words.

'I'm sure you'll love it'. She said, before continuing excitedly. 'I wasn't sure what to make you at first, so I asked some people and they said that you'd once been seen eating a sandwich. So then I thought, well what would you like on a sandwich... and then it hit me'.

Ulquiorra nodded, wondering what exactly could have hit her. Meanwhile Byakuya was suddenly interested again and listened alongside Izuru.

'Well, you seem to like the color green so I figured you probably liked green food too, right?' she stated more than asked and continued, ignoring Izuru's sudden look of worry and Byakuya's quiet laughter. 'So I made a list of green food items, which is a lot harder than you'd think. And ended up with this...' She concluded pointing towards the sandwich.

Suddenly Ulquiorra was glad he hadn't tasted it before she'd explained. Hesitantly he reached out and lifted the top slice of bread revealing some sort of mess on the inside.

Admittedly it didn't smell as bad as last time, but it looked just as... wrong.

Ulquiorra simply looked up at Orihime, expecting an explanation, which she provided easily.

'Well, first I thought lettuce, right? and then cucumbers,' She said demonstrating the latter in the sandwich, 'then, I thought, no more vegetables, so I added ketchup because my brother always used to make me ketchup and cucumber sandwiches, they were my favorite. And that stuff, well it used to be green tea ice cream, you know cause it was green... but I guess it melted... I'm sure it still tastes good though'. And finally she concluded by pointing to some other kinds of lumps 'And that's wasabi'.

Ulquiorra simply placed the slice of bread back where it belonged and looked at Orihime intently. 'I am not eating this'. He said.

Again, just as it had before, a saddened look appeared on Orihime's face. Ulquiorra would have felt bad, however she couldn't have possibly expected him to eat something like this. No one would have, probably not even her.

Ulquiorra wondered if maybe she was mocking him, but decided against it when Izuru invited her to stay and eat with them. It was of course in the effort of cheering her up, which evidently worked as she smiled and agreed to stay. It was then that she revealed that her sandwich was the exact same as Ulquiorra's.

He felt like banging his head on the table, not that he would actually, but of course she would eat something like that, how could he ever have thought otherwise.

.

Ulquiorra had never been more thankful for Izuru's company than he had at lunch that day. If it weren't for him, he was sure Orihime would have talked to no one but himself, which he could hardly handle.

She had a very bubbly and overexcited personality, he could hardly think of proper responses to the things she asked and commented on. But it didn't matter because he mostly avoided answering her altogether, which sadly did not stop her in the least from talking to him anyways.

His jade eyes constantly made their way back to the orange haired girl throughout their entire math class.

And he came to the conclusion that he was only fascinated in her odd behaviour. Yes, he thought, that was most definitely all there was to it.

* * *

A/N: Hello all! and thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter :D they make me so very happy! Next chapter is the festival so get ready ;) just had to clear this sandwich affair up first haha

And yes, I know someone who eats cucumber and ketchup sandwiches.. seems strange to me D: baha, any more suggestions for lunches ;)? I promise they won't all be this bad, it will improve!

and I'm so excited! FanExpo in toronto this weekend! anyone going? I'm just sad because I will miss Johnny Yong Bosch (Ichigo's voice) D: he's only there Sunday and I'm only there Saturday, my poor broken heart.

Anyways, thanks again, sorry for spelling errors and REMEMBER TO REVIEW :D! 3


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